Vegan Cranberry Chicken Salad

Chicken salad has a storied history that dates back to the late 19th century in the United States. Its origins can be traced to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, where it was first introduced as a fashionable lunch option. Over the years, chicken salad has evolved to include a variety of ingredients such as mayonnaise, celery, grapes, nuts, and herbs, making it a versatile dish enjoyed in different variations across households and restaurants. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its simplicity, adaptability, and satisfying combination of flavors and textures. Whether served as a sandwich filling, atop a bed of greens, or alongside crackers, chicken salad continues to be a beloved classic in American cuisine.

There are endless ways to emulate chicken salad with plant foods only. I have seen some people use cooked and chopped chicken nuggets. You can use soy curls or, most popularly people use chickpeas.

Chickpea salad is a staple in most vegan diets but I don’t like the texture. I have tried recreating chicken salad with various chicken replacements, but I couldn’t quite get the texture right. I believe I have found the right combination of ingredients to solve this problem.

I have found that sometimes the water from the vegetables will release while the salad is in the fridge. I hate that so I started adding 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to the final mixture to absorb the excess. I recommend doing that the next day after the salad has had time to come together and do it’s thing. The actual amount of bread crumbs you will need will depend on the amount of water the vegetables in your salad release. I would add it in a little at a time.

For this chickpea salad recipe you will need the following ingredients:

• 1 15oz can of chickpeas drained and rinsed

• 1 1/2 cups of soy curls or soy chunks

• 1/4 cup of dried cranberries

• a total of 3 tablespoons of vinegar

• a total of 2 teaspoons of sugar

• 1 stalk of celery diced small

• 1 Tablespoon of minced onion [dried is fine]

• 1 Tablespoon of chives [dried is fine]

• 1/4 cup of nuts or seeds

• 1 cup of vegan mayonnaise

• 1 Tablespoon of mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

• salt and pepper to taste

• Anything else you want to add. Some people like diced jalapeno or pickles.

Start by putting the rinsed and drained chickpeas in a blender or food processor along with 1Tablespoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Pulse the mixture until the chickpeas are ground but not smooth. Set this aside.

Put the soy curls/chunks in a large bowl along with the dried cranberries and add enough hot water to the bowl to cover the contents. Let it sit for 15 minutes to rehydrate.

Once the 15 minutes is up, drain the cranberries and soy curls/chunks in a strainer and press down on them to remove excess water. I also took handfuls of the mixture in my hands to further squeeze out water. Return the mixture to the empty bowl.

Add the chickpea mixture to the bowl with the cranberries and soy curls/chunks along with the celery, onion, chives and nuts/seeds.

In a smaller bowl mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, garlic powder, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Taste it to see if you want salt and pepper.

Use a spatula to scrape the mayonnaise mixture into the bowl of other ingredients and gently mix it all together.

You can eat it now but it’s best if left in the fridge overnight so the flavor and texture can develop completely.